Optical Engineer, Infrastructure Validation

Job Title

Optical Engineer, Infrastructure Validation

Role Summary

The Optical Engineer will drive optics validation and New Product Introduction (NPI) for optical transceivers in Meta's Release to Production New Product Introduction (RTP-NPI) team. The role combines hands-on lab execution, root-cause analysis, test automation, and cross‑functional coordination with vendors, ODMs, and internal teams to qualify and sustain optical modules in high-volume production.

Experience Level

Senior-level. The posting requests 10+ years of experience in development roles for optical networking hardware and NPI.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include developing test automation, leading NPI programs, and ensuring production readiness and sustainment of optical platforms.

• Develop and maintain Python-based test automation for qualification of optical transceivers across EVT/DVT/PVT and characterization phases.
• Lead optics NPI programs end-to-end with vendors and ODMs from RFI/RFP through EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production ramp and sustaining.
• Identify, debug, and remediate optical hardware failure modes; drive root-cause analysis and corrective action with external partners.
• Set up, integrate, and operate NPI test stations: modules, switches, and lab instruments; enable lights-out test execution where appropriate.
• Define test and measurement methodologies for high-speed optical technologies and translate them into reusable automation and scripts.
• Develop instrument automation and integration for BERT, OSA, power/wavelength meters, oscilloscopes and implement CMIS register-level control via SCPI/VISA/PyVISA or vendor APIs.
• Ensure platforms are supported by production and fleet-health tooling; produce production-readiness documentation and design-for-test specifications.
• Build reliable data capture, storage, and visualization pipelines so test and fleet results are queryable and actionable.
• Provide sustaining validation after deployment to assess stability, security, and performance under production workloads.
• Collaborate with Software, Thermal, Mechanical, Electrical, Signal Integrity, TPM, and Production Engineering teams to integrate optics into systems.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience; preferred items are listed as nice-to-have.

• 10+ years experience in development roles for optical networking hardware with a proven track record of taking products into volume production.
• Proven experience leading optical transceiver NPI programs with vendors and/or ODMs through EVT/DVT/PVT to mass production.
• Demonstrated experience writing Python scripts to automate test and measurement, including instrument control, data acquisition, and analysis; experience building reusable test automation in a team setting.
• Hands-on experience with high-speed optical and electrical test, lab instrumentation, and test automation.
• Experience using instrument-control libraries and APIs (SCPI / VISA / PyVISA) and vendor APIs to automate lab instruments.
• Strong troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and vendor/ODM coordination skills to remediate hardware failure modes.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with InP or silicon-photonic PICs, PIC-IC integration, and advanced optical packaging.
• Deep knowledge of pluggable transceiver form factors (QSFP-DD, OSFP, QSFP112) and the CMIS interface.
• Familiarity with advanced modulation formats (OOK, PAM-4, QPSK, 8/16-QAM) and coherent/direct-detect systems.
• Experience with data handling for test results: schema design, database persistence, dashboards, and statistical analysis using NumPy, pandas, SQL, or similar tools.
• Experience transferring test scripts and methods to contract manufacturers and ODM factory lines; version control experience (Git/Mercurial).
• Familiarity with additional languages useful for test or analysis (C/C++, MATLAB) and test metrics (BER/FEC, TDECQ, OSNR, eye diagrams).

Education Requirements

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a relevant technical field OR equivalent practical experience; Master's degree in Optical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Applied Physics, Computer Science, or a related field is listed as required by the posting. Equivalent practical experience is explicitly accepted where noted.

About the Company

Company: Meta Platforms

Headquarters: Menlo Park, California, United States

American technology company that develops social networking products (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) and invests in virtual/augmented reality hardware and software through Reality Labs, focusing on connectivity, advertising, and immersive computing experiences.